GNOME Settings Daemon

GNOME Settings Daemon (gnome-settings-daemon) is an open source and free software project that has been designed from the offset to act as a daemon for handling the session settings of the GNOME desktop environment. It’s architecture comprises of plugins.

It’s a core GNOME component

The GNOME Settings Daemon program is a core and essential component of the GNOME desktop environment, without which it is humanly impossible to handle a GNOME session and all the settings generated by other core components and applications.

Runs in the background, as a daemon

The software is a simple daemon that runs in the background. Because it is distributed as a core component of the GNOME desktop environment, it cannot be used for any other open-source desktop environment. However, it is heavily also used by the Ubuntu Linux operating system to save its session settings under the Unity desktop environment.

Required by many GNOME apps

The GNOME Settings Daemon package is required by many important GNOME applications, such as GNOME Shell, GNOME Control Center, GNOME Tweak Tool, and GNOME Disk Utility. Also, third-party applications, such as the Ubuntu One GNOME client, use the GNOME Settings Daemon program to save settings.

Under the hood availability

The program is written in the C programming language and it is automatically installed along with each fresh installation of the GNOME desktop environment. It is also available for download as a standalone package (gnome-settings-daemon), deployable on any GNU/Linux distribution.

What is new in this release:

• Translation updates
• Housekeeping:
• Fix improper notify_notification_close() usage
• Power:
• Make power test more robust
• General:
• Update test suite to python3

What is new in version 3.29.3:

• Translation updates
• Datetime:
• Debugging improvements
• Media-keys:
• Wait forever for GrabAccelerators() to succeed

What is new in version :

• Translation updates
• Minor cleanups
• Housekeeping:
• Ignore more virtual file systems
• Fix the Empty Trash button in Settings not working
• Media-keys:
• Fix custom binding command changes not getting applied

What is new in version 3.26.1:

• Translation updates
• Wacom:
• Ensure builtin touchscreens are properly mapped to outputs
• Fix spotty touchscreen detection with those touchscreens that have a capacitive menu/windows button
• Fix touchscreen vs display orientation mismatch under gdm
• XSettings:
• Reload the scale factor when mutter starts up

What is new in version 3.26.0:

• Translation updates.

What is new in version 3.25.2:

• Avoid initializing gtk+ on plugins that don't need it
• Avoid loading gtk+ css theme since we don't have UI
• Several correctness fixes pointed by Coverity
• Fix for no plugins getting loaded under GDM
• Mark forgotten strings in gschema files for translation
• Translation updates
• Housekeeping:
• Ignore GPFS and rootfs mounts
• Media-keys:
• Make calculator key work again
• Fix a few memory leaks
• Changed MediaKeys D-Bus API to match API docs
• Add support for new XF86RFKill keysym
• Show OSD on hardware keyboard brightness changes

What is new in version 3.24.0:

• Work-around possible deadlocks on startup
• Translation updates

What is new in version 3.23.3:

• Plugins:
• Fix crash when X is not available
• Fix compilation failure on some setups
• Fix warnings on exit
• Media-keys:
• Fix shutdown dialog delay when using kbd shortcut
• XSettings:
• Make Gtk/EnablePrimaryPaste configurable through GSettings
• Fix large fonts being scanned before they're fully copied

What is new in version 3.23.2:

• This update requires gnome-session 3.23.2. It splits up gnome-settings-daemon into separate helper daemons, making it easier to root cause possible problems, and paving the way to using systemd to handle the session
• Remove localeexec wrapper now that gnome-session implements that work-around
• Loads of build fixes
• Color:
• Require lcms2 2.2

What is new in version 3.22.1:

• Translation updates
• Power:
• Ensure we blank the screen when locked
• Sharing:
• Fix crash on exit
• Wacom:
• Avoid warnings when switching VTs

What is new in version 3.20.1 / 3.22.0 Beta:

• Color:
• Ignore fake VNC devices
• Housekeeping:
• Code cleanups
• Media keys:
• Add Super+F1 as a hardcoded shortcut for launching Help
• Update gvc to fix a crash setting a headset
• Power:
• Don't claim the light sensor if we're not active
• Smartcard:
• Complete activation task right away if no drivers
• Fix crash on startup
• Wacom:
• Fix hot(un)plug related crashes
• Fix memory leaks
• XSettings:
• Fix keynav-use-caret setting not working

What is new in version 3.19.4:

• Mouse:
• Force 2-finger scroll by default if available
• Migrate scroll-method key to new edge-scrolling-enabled key

What is new in version 3.18.2:

• Updated translations
• Media keys:
• Re-add configuration for the power button, except for tablets and virtual machines which have hard-coded defaults
• Wacom:
• Fix application of left-handed mode and keep-aspect setting
• XSettings:
• Export cursor theme
• Fix possible crasher when disabling the plugin

What is new in version 3.16.2 / 3.18 Beta 1:

• Date & Time:
• Fix auto-timezone changes not getting applied after changed
• Orientation:
• Fix screen lock not getting applied
• Print notifications:
• Fix setting of page size
• Wacom:
• Fix some settings not getting applied after changed
• XSettings:
• Fix some settings not getting applied after changed

What is new in version 3.16.2:

• Media keys:
• Don't crash when toggling the touchpad enabled button
• Mouse:
• Fix scroll methods settings for multiple devices
• Enable tap to click on devices without hw buttons
• Don't disable soft buttons when disabling the touchpad on devices
• without hw buttons
• Power:
• Avoid screen being left ON indefinitely after waking from sleep if there's a notification when we wake up
• Fix backlight adjustment not working under gdm in some configurations
• Print Notifications:
• Do not block because of authentication
• Wacom:
• Remove calibration notification
• XSettings:
• Export cursor size to X resources
• Update fonts immediately as they are added/removed/changed
• Updated translations

What is new in version 3.16.0:

• Fix a problem when hot-plugging Wacom devices
• Updated translations

What is new in version 3.15.4:

• Added GsdDeviceManager with X11 and udev (for native wayland sessions) backends
• Most keyboard, mouse, touchpad and wacom settings schemas moved to gsettings-desktop-schemas. User settings migration is done automatically at startup
• The moved settings are now applied by mutter >= 3.15.4
• Media-keys:
• Adjust to ShellKeyGrabber changes (requires gnome-shell >= 3.15.4 at run time)
• Make power-actions non-interactive based on mode
• XSettings:
• Export the session bus ID as an xsetting

What is new in version 3.15.1:

• Add scroll wheel emulation in trackballs
• Disable touchscreens when the screen is turned off
• Show backlight OSD on the monitor which it affects

What is new in version 3.14.2:

• Updated translations
• Media-keys:
• Fixed a few minor leaks
• Power:
• Disable touchscreens when turning off its screen
• Smartcard:
• Fixed a locking issue
• Wacom:
• Fix possible crash in GsdDeviceMapper
• Make sure that display-less tablets can be set back to mapping to the full desktop extent
• Make sure that the output is looked up again from settings when the connected outputs change
• XSettings:
• Don't check for hi-dpi on monitors with broken EDID

What is new in version 3.14.1:

• Cursor:
• Disable if running under a wayland session
• Keyboard:
• Add back the gtk+ IM module handling
• Media-keys:
• Disallow screenshots when locked
• XSettings:
• Translate titlebar action settings (for CSD gtk+ windows)
• Misc cleanups

What is new in version 3.14.0:

• Updated translations
• XSettings:
• Fix swapping out of WM settings schemas

What is new in version 3.14 RC:

• Keyboard:
• Remove input sources handling: this was moved to mutter/gnome-shell and removes g-s-d's build dependency on IBus
• Power:
• '0' keyboard backlight is a valid value
• Rfkill:
• Add a property to determine whether to show airplane mode

What is new in version 3.12.2:

• Fix crasher when plugging in an external display into a laptop with a touchscreen
• Power:
• Fix brighntess sliders and OSD starting at zero when first used
• Fix display not blanking after gnome-shell wake up
• Fix wake up not working in some cases
• Fix laptop sometimes not suspending when unplugging from a dock
• Fix double-suspend when suspending after a timeout
• Fix erratic backlight behaviour when the machine has a limited number of backlight settings

What is new in version 3.11.5:

• We no longer quit when gnome-session tells all registered clients to stop so that applications still running don't lose their theme and icons briefly before the session ends
• Date & Time:
• Specify the accuracy level for geoclue
• Provide desktop id to geoclue so that authorization works
• Media-keys:
• Remove the default shortcut to toggle the screen reader since it conflicts with the "panel main menu" shortcut
• Wacom:
• Check for calibration state on startup/device-added

What is new in version 3.11.3:

• Media-keys:
• Fix "show battery" key handling
• Rfkill:
• Apply permissions for rfkill devices to the local user
• Add Bluetooth killswitch support
• Don't autostart ModemManager
• Wacom:
• Skip GSD_WACOM_SET_ALL_MONITORS on the switch monitor pad action
• Rotate OLED labels on left-handed setups
• Show OSD when remapping device to a monitor through the pad bindings
• Maintain per-device calibration notifications

Requirements:

• GNOME